leica818

Dunno if you saw my message yet, but I've been out for awhile (since 2009), and it's been great, but I miss the field a lot. I still work in science, but more physical neuroscience and less psychological neuroscience. What are you going to be studying? I'm excited to see NC too, but I'm still really nervous about it!

Thanks Carly! Contacting the schools is a great idea, I'll try that to see what they say

Yes! Congrats, and glad to meet you! Are you from the NC area?

I am feeling a bit conflicted at the moment: I was accepted into a nice MA program with tuition waiver and stipend, and I was also accepted into a decent PhD program with a lot of funding. The MA program offers a good bunch of faculty, half of which have overlapping research interests with me and are all looking to accept graduate students. This school does not offer a PhD program, however, so I would have to leave to pursue a PhD afterwards, should I decide to. The PhD program I was accepted into, the faculty list is not as interesting to me as the MA program's. My question right now is, which do I choose?!!? I've heard that a lot of PhD programs do not accept the MA coursework, and a student with an MA would have to start over again should he/she decide to pursue a PhD (2 years for the MA + 5 years for the PhD = 7 years total), does anyone have experience with this? Also, does the name of the school matter? The faculty members of the PhD program came from good schools, but their research interests just don't align quite as well... I accepted the MA offer for a few reasons: I am unsure of where I will be in two years and where my interests lie. I am unsure of what my "calling" is (see next paragraph). I like the faculty at the MA program a lot better. I hate to admit this, but I feel like I am choosing an MA program because I prefer to take baby steps rather than leap. I truly feel that this MA program is the right decision for me at this moment, and it's a decision I would be comfortable with, but I just can't help but think the "what-if's..." I have also been told many times that graduate study is for people who know what they want. To what extent do you find this true? Did you come out feeling like you wasted 2-6 years when it didn't (or maybe it did!) work out?? Did this decision affect the rest of your life? Honestly, I am certain that I want to be in behavioral neuroscience and do research, but I am unsure of whether I would like to have my own lab or drown myself in research. One last thing I would like to point out is the move. If I choose the MA program, I will have to move states. If I choose the PhD program, I will move an hour away from my current location. All the academic issues aside, staying for the PhD program is the best because I wouldn't move very far, I wouldn't have to change states, and I wouldn't have to leave my significant other. Should these things be taken into consideration? Did you consider these issues when you relocated for school? I feel like this is a redundant question, as no doubt many of the people here have addressed an issue like this prior to this thread, but it doesn't hurt to ask, I spose, especially when so many of us are in this decision-making process. Thank you to all who take the time to read/respond. This is a really trying period, something I did not expect.

Thank you so much!! I am looking forward to visiting WS in a few weeks

I was actually in this position last year. Well.. the fall/winter of 2009. I'd applied to solely PhD programs my last year of college and was rejected/waitlisted-then-rejected from them all. I was so stressed out and desperate; it was a really horrible time of my life. I ended up taking a job in Dallas even though I did not want to leave home and worked for two years. Before leaving for Dallas though, I'd applied to schools again, this time to MA and PhD programs. I was accepted into quite a few programs the second time around (different schools), but in the end I decided to stay and work for 1+ years and then re-apply for MA and PhD programs. I'm not exactly sure where the OP is (newly graduated, etc.), but I will say that having two years of RA in psychology is extremely helpful. It adds a lot to your resume and your personal statement, especially if you end up RAing in a field that you plan to do research in. Choosing to stay with my RA job instead of going back to school was a really big decision for me, and I'm so, so, so glad I made that choice. I learned about independence, friendship, respect in the workplace, relationships, basically life in general. It sounds really cliche, but these two years have taught me a lot (and I met someone here . Often times, going through an RA stint will teach you a lot about yourself too, like where your research interests and end goals lie. I worked for two years in a neuroscience lab and realized how much I love neuroscience--and miss psychology, which really encouraged me to work harder and apply to good graduate psychology programs. I also agree with LisaLisa86 in that you really have to know what your end goal is before you go to graduate school. It's a lot different than undergrad; you can't go and wander around aimlessly until something hits you in the face because unfortunately, graduate school is real work (I know grad school will be hard for me because I was one of the wandering undergrads...). Good luck~

You wouldn't have by chance studied abroad in Beijing with the TBC program through SLU, would you??? Where are you considering to live in downtown? Downtown StL is not "REALLY bad," but you might have to adjust to sirens throughout the night. I lived on-campus when I attended SLU, and I felt safe on campus. A few blocks outside of campus though, I definitely would not suggest you venture out to, especially after dark. East St. Louis was named "Most Dangerous City". There is a lot of nightlife in the heart of downtown St. Louis, so downtown is generally safer. The areas around WashU and SLU are generally considered to be very safe areas.

My last post about Winston-Salem, NC in the City Guide forum got no replies, so maybe this one will have better luck... Just gave Wake the good news that I will be attending their MA program today. Anyone else going up/down/over there??

Thanks, studentaffairsgrad. Dang, 9700/year is a lot! I'm jealous. What city are you going to be in?

That's a really good point. I will contact the school to make sure how much the total tuition is. Thanks

Can anyone give some insight on what it's like to live in Winston-Salem? I'm guessing it's going to be a really small city that was built for the university... Any info on cheap living, night life, proximity to markets/mall? Are there Asian supermarkets? What is there to do in WS??? I saw that Charlotte is about an hour away, how is Charlotte in comparison? Worth the drive?? Thanks

Hey there! Thanks for that information! That's good to know because I'm not sure if I want to pursue a PhD yet... What about teaching at a high school level? Can a person with just an MA do that?? Would that require an education certificate?? Thanks

Hey everyone, I didn't read all the posts, but just skimmed. In response to the original poster, I heard back from BC yesterday. They sent me a thin envelope in the mail... Not sure if it's BU or BC, but one of them doesn't give decisions through phone or email, so applicants have to wait via snail mail. What year are we in? In response to those asking about Wake Forest, I've heard back from them already as well; Last Wednesday, to be exact. Best of luck to everyone!

I'd misread my letter; the 36,xxx includes the stipend, so it's actually 32,xxx for scholarship, then 4200 left as stipend. The letter doesn't specifically mention "tuition waiver" but calls it "tuition scholarship."

Nope, I just double-checked, it's $36,XXX, almost $37,000. Thanks everyone for your responses! It seems the typical stipend for MA students is, well, none at all. Like IRdreams said, I guess this is pretty generous of the university!